Does It Still Count As Heroism If You Laugh?
by theslytherinpaladin
Summary: "Iida-kun. A question, if you don't mind. How exactly did you manage to get stuck in there?" "You can't tell Midoriya-kun or Uraraka-san," Iida said in way of answer. Shinsou's answering grin was in no way reassuring. One-Shot.


"Iida-kun. A question, if you don't mind. How exactly did you manage to get stuck in there?" Some of the other members of class 1-A might have mistaken the bland tone of Shinsou Hitoshi for indifference, but Iida had made it his mission to learn everything he could about his fellow first year since his transfer into the hero course. He had no problem recognizing the question for what it truly was. Amusement.

"You can't tell Midoriya-kun or Uraraka-san," Iida said in way of answer. Shinsou simply grinned as he stepped closer.

"I don't know, Iida-kun. This seems like a tricky situation. I might need some help getting you out of it. Are you really going to be that picky with your rescuers?"

"You could at least pretend you aren't enjoying this. As a future hero, laughing at the people you're trying to help is probably not the best-" Iida would have happily continued with his rant-it was one that he had given on multiple occasions when Bakugou and some of his friends took their training exercises a little less seriously than was deserved. He could practically recite it word for word now with no variations- but the words died when he saw the expression on Shinsou's face shift.

Like with his voice, the change might not have been noticeable to most, but Iida had been watching him. As the class president it was his job to help their new classmate adjust to the new course load and ensure that there were no conflicts between Shinsou and the other more volatile members of 1-A. That meant becoming just as familiar with Shinsou as he was with the people he had spent months training and fighting with. It was a daunting challenge, but one that Iida had gladly taken on.

Trying to ignore the still less than situation he was in Iida asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

Shinsou blinked, staring at Iida as if he had never seen him before. "You're stuck in a trash can, and you're asking me if _I'm_ okay?"

Iida didn't see what the problem was. "I-Yes? It looked like something I said might have upset you, and for that I apologize. It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable in any way." He tried to bow as he gave his apology, but with his hands arms awkwardly stuck in the trash can as well it didn't have quite the desired effect.

Shinsou still looked baffled. "You didn't upset me."

"Oh?" Iida asked, wondering if it would be rude then for him to ask for assistance once more. The tingling in his arms from having his circulation cut off had long passed the point of mildly inconvenient.

"You just…" Shinsou hesitated, looking away from Iida as if the words were causing him physical pain to admit. "You called me a future hero."

This did not clear up Iida's confusion, and it did nothing to solve the Trashcan Situation. "I'm sorry, Shinsou-kun, I just meant that as a member of the hero course there are certain expectations and...are you laughing? This is exactly what I'm talking about!"

"No, no." Shinsou waved him off, a small smile on his face that Iida hadn't seen before. Iida couldn't see what was so funny about being lectured on responsibility. "I wasn't laughing at that. Don't mind me. Now do you want to tell me how you got in this situation so I can help you out?"

Iida's face flushed in an instant, confusion forgotten. "You can't just help me because it's the right thing to do?"

"I haven't been in the hero course that long, Iida-kun. I'm afraid your heroique dispositions haven't quite worn onto me yet." Shinsou's amusement at the situation had returned.

"I...Do I have to?" Iida asked, and he would deny that there was a whine in his voice as he spoke.

"I saw Izuku and Uraraka not far from here," Shinsou stepped back, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "I can always go find them if you-"

"No!" His friends would never let him live this down. "No, it's fine. I was...I was running and I tripped." Iida admitted, mortified. As a would be hero, such an error was inexcusable. If he had made such a mistake during training-or God forbid an actual fight with a villain- the consequences could have been disastrous.

"Huh." Shinsou said, staring at him for a moment longer. "Now let's see how we can-"

"That's all you're going to say?" Iida said.

"I don't really care how you got into this mess, Iida-kun. I was just curious. I'm not going to make fun of you if that's what you were thinking."

Iida quickly backtracked, shaking his head so quickly his glasses slid down his nose. "I didn't mean to imply anything negative about your character, Shinsou-kun."

"Of course not," Shinsou responded with a smirk, grabbing Iida's hands and pulling him free of the can. "And Iida-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Stay here for another fifteen minutes, will you?" Shinsou asked, stepping smoothly out of Iida's reach. "You didn't make me promise not to tell Kaminari, after all."

Iida stared at Shinsou in open mouthed horror as his rescuer sent him a cheeky wave before hurrying back the way he had come.

"Shinsou! Shinsou Hitoshi get back here!"

It seemed like Iida wouldn't be living this moment down after all.


End file.
